While many are eagerly anticipating the sale of six-packs and single bottles by beer distributors that will be allowed under HB 1196, for some, the new law will create new problems.

Six things you should know about the changes affecting beer distributors:

What you can now buy directly from beer distributors: Whole and mixed six-packs, single bottles and growlers. You can also have up to 16 12-ounce containers of beer shipped directly to your home each month from brewers.

Why the law changed: Locally owned beer distributors and craft brewers saw their profits fall after a state Supreme Court decision in 2010 allowed grocery stores to sell beer. Those sales losses increased after Act 39 was signed into law this year. That act allows wine to be sold in stores other than Wine and Spirits shops. HB 1196 was passed as an amendment to Act 39 to help beer distributors.

Besides beer sales, what else is changing? All businesses will now be subject to the private territorial agreements between large wholesalers and brewers. Retail distributors would be prohibited from buying from one wholesaler and selling to a bar or restaurants in another wholesaler's territory. A retail distributor who breaks the law would not be penalized, but the bar or restaurant that accepted the retailer's product risks being closed for 30 days by the state.

Last week in the state Capitol, Republicans and Democrats toasted passage of a bill that would let beer distributors sell six-packs and single bottles as evidence lawmakers finally are loosening Pennsylvania's restrictive Prohibition-era alcohol laws.

But in a small northern Northampton County...

(Steve Esack)

Why that is a problem: It could create problems for retail distributors near territorial boundries because the retail distributors might be required to buy from one territory but have a majority of customers in another territory. Previously, the retail distributor had the option of negotiating with wholesalers or brewers about these crossborder sales, but the new law eliminates that option.

Why did it change? To stop retailers from buying beer cheaper from one wholesaler and re-selling it at a higher price in a region where the wholesaler's prices may be higher.